Amid the third year of the Ukrainian crisis, the European Union is gearing up to impose a fresh round of sanctions on Russia.
According to the German news agency, the EU is set to expand its European sanctions on Russia significantly, targeting more individuals and organizations whose assets will be frozen within the European Union.
These sanctions will also focus on additional companies contributing to Russia’s military and technological development, as well as those involved in the defense and security sector.
Afterward, the European Union will no longer be able to sell goods and technologies with military ties to Russia, according to the same source.
Concrete proposals for what is now known as the “13th Package” of sanctions were presented to representatives of EU member states by senior officials at the European Commission over the past weekend.
The next step will be the formulation of a draft resolution on sanctions, which will then need official approval from all twenty-seven EU member states.
According to the proposed sanctions, over 200 individuals and companies could be affected.
The latest package of sanctions imposed by the European Union on Moscow included a ban on the import of diamonds and jewelry from Russia.
A broad-based ban on the import of crude oil, coal, steel, gold, and luxury goods, along with measures targeting banks and financial institutions, has also been in place for some time.
Furthermore, a decision may be made regarding the absorption of frozen revenues from the Russian Central Bank, a long-planned move that will coincide with the upcoming package of sanctions.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin, through its spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, warned the West today against any attempt to use frozen Russian assets as collateral to raise funds for Ukraine.
Such a move would be deemed illegal and could undermine the entire global economic system, according to Peskov.
This response came in light of a Bloomberg report suggesting that the G7 is discussing a plan to use over $250 billion of frozen Russian Central Bank assets as collateral to aid in financing Ukraine’s reconstruction.
